Episode No. 4 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil'

As the fourth episode of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” begins, we get a
brief recap of this past week’s episode, which featured Vitor Belfort’s team picking up its second straight win as middleweight Daniel Sarafian defeated Renee Forte with a second-round rear-naked choke.

This week, with Team Vitor up 2-0 and in control of matchmaking, we return to the featherweight division for the second quarterfinal-round fight.

Before the picks, though, we see Anistavio “Gasparzinho” Medeiros up to his usual antics and annoying the many fighters who are trying to sleep. It’s well into the middle of the night, and many guys – including most of Team Wanderlei – are growing tired of it, and they talk to Vitor about it the next day in hopes they can get Anistavio in check.

Looking for his first win, Wanderlei reminds his team to stay patient and mentally strong.

At the training center, Vitor announces his fourth pick, Rodrigo Damm, will fight next. Vitor says the key is picking a fighter who’s peaking during training, and he thinks Rodrigo is their guy. However, Vitor doesn’t want Rodrigo stressing about his opponent, so he doesn’t tell him whom he’s fighting.

On the ride back to the house, Rodrigo admits he’s annoyed by the decision. His teammates think that maybe Vitor hasn’t decided, and some believe Rodrigo is overreacting. Whatever the reason, Rodrigo isn’t pleased.

But the next morning, Vitor tells both teams that Rodrigo will take on Team Wanderlei Silva’s third pick, John “Macapa” Teixeira. Neither fighter seems surprised by the matchup.

Vitor believes Rodrigo’s international experience – including jiu-jitsu competitions and stints with Strikeforce and World Victory Road/Sengoku – will prepare him well. But Wanderlei believes John is one of their best fighters and up to the challenge.

Rodrigo recounts his childhood, which included a broken home, living on his own, struggling to survive, and some much-needed financial help from his sister. It was his sister, fellow fighter Carina, who introduced him to jiu-jitsu, noticed he was good at it, and sold her jewelry to pay for his training.

“I love her to bits,” says an emotional Rodrigo, who’s also now inspired and driven by his wife and kids. “She’s the reason I’m here. She inspires me.”

John, meanwhile, is a “complete fighter” with great combinations and ground work, according to Wanderlei. The fighter is from a poor neighborhood in Macapa, and he fights for his mom and girlfriend. He said his dad was abusive and eventually split from his mom, who worked hard to give him a good life.

“When I fight, I’m going to think of her,” he says.

As the fighters prepare for weigh-ins, Vitor and Wanderlei discuss the finer points of weight-cutting. Wanderlei even stops by the house to check in on his fighter.

At the training center, the fighters officially hit the scale. Rodrigo is good to go at 145 pounds, and a buck-naked John weighs the same.

Soon, it’s fight day, and we have:

TEAM VITOR’S RODRIGO DAMM (9-5) VS. TEAM WANDERLEI’S JOHN “MACAPA” TEIXEIRA (12-0)Round 1 – Ref Mario Yamasaki gets us started, and we’re underway. After some early exchanges, Rodrigo goes to a knee but works for a takedown. The fighters clinch against the cage, and Rodrigo works a single leg to get the takedown. He puts John against the cage and works some ground and pound. John is quickly back up, though, and resets. John unloads a couple nice right hands, but Rodrigo answers. The fighters are swinging wildly. Rodrigo works low kicks and then grabs a single leg again and gets the takedown. Rodrigo moves to half-guard, but John keeps him from moving to mount and ties up the action. Rodrigo postures up for some elbows and punches before John returns to his feet. The fighters wing sloppy punches again, and the round ends with them clinched against the fence as Rodrigo is warned about grabbing the fence. With the takedowns, Rodrigo appears to win the round.

Round 2 – John is the aggressor to start the second and sprawls out of some early takedown attempts. The fighters trade kicks, and John stalks as Rodrigo appears to be slowing. John, though, won’t pull the trigger and simply paws his jab. He finally connects on some low kicks, sprawls to avoid a takedown, and then eats a combo. John, though, fires back with a mix of punches and low kicks. The pace again slows. John wings some punches that miss wide, and a timeout is called when he takes a finger to the eye. After a brief timeout, the action continues. John follows some big overhand rights and low kicks with a solid sprawl, but Rodrigo finally gets him to the mat with 90 seconds remaining. John, though, is quickly back up. Rodrigo fakes a shot and lands some punches and then again drags the fight to the mat. Rodrigo keeps him pinned into the fencing as the coaches yell for John to get up. Rodrigo moves to mount, but John pulls him back into half guard. Rodrigo closes out the round back in mount position. It’s a close round with John winning the first part and Rodrigo the second.

After the round, the ref announces the fight is a draw, and a sudden-victory third round will determine a winner.

Round 3 – Both fighters are clearly fatigued. John strikes first, but Rodrigo answers and frantically searches for a takedown. John remains elusive, though. John throws low kicks while moving in and out of range. The pace slows, and neither commits. John, though, starts to work some jabs. They’re not doing much, but they score points. He then mixes in some low kicks. Rodrigo answers with a flurry, ducks under a punch, and works for a single-leg takedown. After some effort, he lifts John and slams him to the mat. Rodrigo drops some hammerfists and looks to improve his position. He pancakes John and moves to half guard while working short punches to the ribs. Rodrigo then moves to side control and looks for the crucifix. John explodes out of it and gets back to his feet, but Rodrigo holds him tight. John presses him into the cage and gets a single-leg takedown of his own. Rodrigo, though, looks for an armbar and then a kimura, but John defends. John closes out the round in mount position before Rodrigo escapes. It’s a close round and a terribly close fight, and both teams cheer as though they win.

Team Wanderlei isn’t happy, but Wanderlei tells John he fought well and made the team proud. Team Vitor, meanwhile, carries Rodrigo out of the cage on their shoulders.

“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” says Rodrigo, who offers a Xyience toast to his teammates for rooting him on.

With the victory, Team Vitor moves to 3-0 through three fights in the eight-bout opening round.
(Pictured: Rodrigo Damm)

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” every Sunday at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT at en.TUF.tv at midnight ET/9 p.m. PT. MMAjunkie.com recaps each episode of the reality series, and additional series coverage can be found on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” page.

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